outline/allout/overlay performance (was: existing work on TODO items)

[Stefan Monnier]

> i think i've surmounted the performance problem i was seeing, by
> better stitching together the overlays.

Good news.

> where i'm getting to is a version of allout that uses a routine which
> flags text for invisibility that is very like the one in outline-mode -
> `outline-flag-region' - but uses a different routine to reconcile the
> presentation after isearches - the `isearch-open-invisible' property.
> i may want to use a special `isearch-open-invisible-temporary' property,
> as well.

You may want to check interaction with reveal-mode as well.

> these choices are hard-coded in the current `outline-flag-region', so
> i can't use it as stands.  i could suggest a slightly modified version
> which open-codes these choices so "derivative" outline modes can use it
> directly while tailoring these aspects for their specific purposes.  does
> that seem like a reasonable way to go?

I don't understand why outline-flag-region should have anything to do with
the implementation of an isearch-open-invisible(-temporary) function, so I'm
probably not understanding you well, but improving outline-flag-region so it
stitches overlays together sounds like a good idea.
Maybe it could be made into a generic function, much like remove-overlays
and moved to subr.el.


        Stefan